HOUSTON — There are less than 60 days until election day, and at the top of the ticket is a matchup between the Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat.
Abbott is holding on to a slight lead in polling and he made a campaign stop Tuesday in Houston to address crime.
Abbott’s record on crime surrounding abortions is raising some questions.
In 2021, when he signed an abortion ban, Abbott pledged to eliminate all rapists in Texas, but that hasn’t happened. Concerns are increasing with the new abortion law that provides no exception for rape or incest.
Abbott championed a restrictive abortion ban that could place doctors who perform abortions in jail and charge them with a felony. Abbott is backing prosecutors going after doctors.
“Whichever law that applies is going to hold accountable anyone who violates those laws,” Abbott said.
Abbott added that the mother should not be prosecuted.
Gov. Abbott sat down for a one-one interview with KHOU 11 anchor Len Cannon during his Houston visit. Watch the full interview in the video below:
O’Rourke's campaign calls the law that “specifically includes life in prison and a minimum fine of $100,000 for doctors who perform abortions, extreme.”
“Rape is a crime and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas,” Abbott said last year.
Now, Abbott said he’s still working towards eliminating rapists.
“One is a law to prevent cities from defunding the police. The other is a law to fix a broken bail system. Both of those laws, in addition to processing the rape kits, will help ensure the arrest and prosecution of criminals,” Abbott said.
O'Rourke responded with this statement:
“Greg Abbott’s extreme abortion ban with no exception for rape or incest took effect last month as Texas leads the nation in rape offenses on his watch, and as the arrest rate for rape has fallen by nearly half since he took office. Meanwhile, Abbott allows over 3,000 untested rape kits to collect dust in his state crime labs."